Mortgages, market rebounds in the first quarter: +1.9% demand from private individuals and households

Demand for new mortgages from private individuals and households resumed in the first quarter of 2024, up 1.9% after more than two years of contraction. Driving the recovery was on the one hand the reduction in Irs indices for fixed-rate mortgages, -0.70% from the 2023 highs, and on the other a strong return of interest in mortgage subrogation, with 43% of requests online against 22% in Q4 2023. This is the picture that emerges from the Crif-mutuisupermarket mortgage compass for the first quarter of 2024. In particular, driving the demand for subrogation are borrowers wishing to replace their fixed-rate mortgage with a cheaper fixed-rate one, with major banks having launched dedicated offers for energy-efficient properties since the beginning of the year.

"While demand for subrogation restarted with momentum in the first quarter, demand for home purchase mortgages grew but at a slower pace. The expected ECB rate cuts could certainly instil new confidence, reinforcing the recovery of the mortgage market that began in February 2024," comments Stefano Rossini, director and founder of MutuiSupermarket.it. The fourth quarter of 2023 closed with a contraction in the number of residential purchases and sales of -3.3% compared to the corresponding quarter of 2022, but more moderate compared to the other quarters of the year. In the same period, the percentage of new home purchase loans reached an all-time low as recorded by the Internal Revenue Service. Whereas until the third quarter of 2022, almost 50% of residential purchases were matched by new mortgages, the percentage dropped to 37%, due to high interest rates.